Every January, the world’s most powerful political and economic actors gather in Davos to talk about the future. Trillions of dollars. Global security. Artificial intelligence. Climate risk. It can all feel impossibly distant from everyday life — especially for people trying to make change at the community level.
But as Eugene explains in this episode of Voices of the New Economy, what happens in those rooms matters precisely because it reveals how our systems are designed — and who they are designed to serve.
We Don’t Need a “New” Economy — We Need First Principles Back
Eugene challenges the idea that we need to invent an entirely new economic system. Instead, he argues that economics has drifted far from its original purpose.
At its core, economics was meant to answer simple questions:
How do people meet their needs?
How do communities flourish without harming others?
How do we organise shared resources fairly over time?
What we have today, he suggests, is not a broken system but one that is functioning exactly as it was redesigned to function: prioritising short-term growth, shareholder returns and extraction — even when those outcomes undermine long-term wellbeing.
Two Futures, Side by Side
At Davos, Eugene observed two very different approaches to the future unfolding in parallel.
On one side were voices doubling down on dominance, speed and transactional power — growth at any cost, justified through nationalism, technology or financial scale. On the other were leaders openly questioning whether pretending the system still works is itself a form of collective denial.
These aren’t abstract debates. They shape trade rules, climate responses, labour conditions and the technologies that increasingly govern everyday life.
The tension, Eugene notes, isn’t left versus right. It’s between those willing to interrogate the foundations of the system and those repainting the façade.
When AI Becomes an Excuse Not to Think
Artificial intelligence featured heavily in Davos conversations, often framed as a neutral tool or inevitable partner. Eugene offers a sharper warning.
When decisions are outsourced to algorithms, responsibility often dissolves. “The system told me to” becomes a justification for harm, inaction or unethical outcomes. He calls this responsibility diffusion — and argues that protecting human agency requires active resistance.
AI, he suggests, should remain a tool guided by critical thinking, not a substitute for it. The danger isn’t intelligence itself, but the loss of challenge, judgment and moral questioning.
Growth vs Significance
One of the central ideas explored in Eugene’s book Built to Collapse is the difference between growth and significance.
Growth measures scale, speed and volume.
Significance measures depth, trust and meaningful impact.
A lemonade stand serving ten people well may never scale — but it creates real connection. By contrast, billion-dollar enterprises can grow rapidly while hollowing out communities and ecosystems.
For grassroots organisers, cooperatives and social enterprises, this distinction matters. Not everything valuable needs to scale. Some things need to stay rooted.
Built to Collapse — On Purpose
Perhaps the most confronting insight from the conversation is this: systems that appear to be “failing” may actually be succeeding — for a small group.
Short-term incentives, quarterly profit cycles and extractive investment models reward behaviour that externalises harm. Climate breakdown, burnout and inequality aren’t accidents; they are downstream effects.
The problem isn’t that leaders don’t know this. It’s that the system rewards ignoring it.
So What Can Be Done?
Eugene doesn’t offer silver bullets. Instead, he returns to three grounding principles:
- Be of service to others, not just yourself
- Build for long-term sustainability, not short-term wins
- Focus on significance over scale
For local changemakers, students and activists, this reframes power. You don’t need to be in Davos to build something meaningful. You need clarity about who you serve, what you protect and what you’re willing to let go of.
Why This Moment Matters
After a decade at the World Economic Forum, Eugene sees something shifting. Alongside the noise and repetition, new networks are forming — smaller, quieter, more action-oriented. People are stepping away from performative talk and toward experimentation, collaboration and place-based solutions.
Change, he suggests, rarely begins in plenary halls. It begins when people stop waiting for permission and start owning their part of the system.
The economy we’re living in may be built to collapse. The question now is what we’re building next — and whether we’re brave enough to build it differently.
